The success that Hope had with this led to him being offered a short-term, exclusive contract with the film studio Paramount and the comedian Jerry Lewis, as well as a role in Lewis’s film The Ladies Man (1961), in addition to several guest starring roles on television in such well-known series as “Checkmate, “Have Gun, Will Travel,” “Ben Casey,” “The New Phil Silvers Show,” and “The Farmer’s Daughter” are some of the shows that have aired on this channel. Her unusual voice and goofy appearance made her an instant favourite with the audience, which helped her moments with Jack Lemmon achieve the ideal balance of humour and tragedy. Margie MacDougall, Jack Lemmon’s Christmas Eve tavern pick-up, in the Oscar-winning picture The Apartment (1960). It really took off, however, after Billy Wilder cast her as Mrs. This was after she was fired from the Broadway show “Top Banana” (1959). Hope’s career got back on track in summer stock with such shows as “Guys and Dolls” (wherein she developed “the voice” as Adelaide), “Oklahoma!” (as Ado Annie), “Best Foot Forward” (as Ethel), and as a featured dancer in the 1956 Broadway and film version of Li’l Abner. The show was performed at the Jones Beach Marine Theatre in Long Island. When he and Guy Lombardo cast her as the “Teeny Weeny Genie” in the 1954 musical extravaganza “Arabian Nights” starring Lauritz Melchior at the Jones Beach Marine Theatre in Long Island, her father changed her stage name to “Hope Holiday” (in tribute to Judy Holliday) to avoid nepotism talk.
Before making a triumphant comeback to the stage, Hope had rather unremarkable careers as a vocalist with the Ralph Flanagan band, a performer in nightclubs, and an attraction at the Copacabana. Via the connections of their influential father, both Hope (billed as “Hope Zee”) and Judy (billed as “Judy Sinclair”) made their Broadway bows as teens in the chorus of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1949 starring Carol Channing. Hope, who has a background in ballet, tap, and contemporary dance, had her debut when she was a child on the show “Hearn’s Kiddie Hour” on a New York radio station, where she performed both singing and dancing. Being the daughter of burlesque comic-turned-Capitol Theatre producer-turned-manager Allen Zee, who was born Allen Zaslawsky of Russian-Jewish parentage but legally changed his name to “Zee” before Hope was born, the actress and her older sister Judy were encouraged to enter the entertainment industry at an early age. Hope Jane Zee was born in Brooklyn on November 30, 1933, however she spent most of her childhood years in Manhattan.
This bubbly character comedienne, whose blonde tomboy looks and robust energy was reminiscent of Betty Hutton and who gained her way to fame in the films of director Billy Wilder, went on to use this one-of-a-kind voice several times throughout her career before phasing out of acting and moving into producing. Her gritty Brooklynese tones were easily recognisable on film and TV, and she became known as “the voice,” much like Judy Holliday. Hope Holiday, like Judy Holliday a decade before her, became renowned as the dame with “the voice” during the 1960s.
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